Alex Ovechkin notched his 858th career goal and added two assists as the Washington Capitals defeated the Montreal Canadiens 6-3 on Thursday night, extending their solid season start.
The Capitals captain’s goal was his first against Cayden Primeau, adding Primeau as the 176th different goaltender he’s scored on throughout his career. In NHL history, only Jaromir Jagr (178) and Patrick Marleau (177) have scored against more goaltenders.
Ovechkin is currently on track to reach 45 goals this season, which would bring his career total to 895 or potentially even higher by spring. He’s now just 37 goals shy of surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record.
The 39-year-old Ovechkin has already tallied five goals this season, continuing to accumulate scores at an unprecedented rate for a player of his age in hockey history.
He’s firmly on track for his 19th 30-goal season, further extending his record beyond the previous high of 18, already the most in NHL history.
Alex Ovechkin playmaking for his teammates
Before netting his goal with 7:33 remaining in the third period, Ovechkin assisted on scores by Tom Wilson and Aliaksei Protas. Wilson broke an 0-for-22 power-play slump with his team-leading sixth goal of the season.
Brandon Duhaime and Jakub Vrana scored just seconds apart, while Connor McMichael also found the back of the net for the Capitals, who boosted their record to 7-2-0. This marks the first time they’ve won seven of their initial nine games since the 2015-16 season.
Following his three-point performance against the Canadiens, Ovechkin praised Protas and center Dylan Strome, noting that their play made it effortless for him to find the net.
“You can see empty netters, you know? (Strome and Protas) find me out there, and I almost miss it, too,” said the Capitals captain.
Montreal just not making it work against the Capitals
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Montreal’s Cole Caufield netted his 10th goal, matching New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier for the league’s top spot. Brendan Gallagher and Nick Suzuki also scored for the Canadiens, while Primeau made 28 saves.
The Canadiens converted just one of their six power-play chances. Although Caufield managed to score on one opportunity, the Habs fell short on five other chances, a factor that may have swayed the game.
Heading into Thursday night’s game, the Canadiens’ power play ranked 11th in the league with a solid 22.9% success rate. Despite this respectable efficiency, they couldn’t make it work against the Capitals. If Montreal had converted more than one power-play chance, it might have significantly altered the game’s outcome.
In the end, the Canadiens’ failure to contain Ovechkin proved to be their downfall. If they had managed to limit his impact, Montreal might have stood a genuine chance of securing a win.
The Capitals will host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, while the Canadiens will travel to Pittsburgh for their next matchup with the Penguins.